Biomass to Chemicals and Fuels: Science, Technology and Public Policy

The conference investigated the potential for biofuels to contribute to U.S. energy security and highlighted the research and development of new technologies and scientific breakthroughs needed to make biofuels a viable alternative to oil based fuels. This conference also served as part of a broader campaign to reinvigorate public interest in the physical sciences.

A bipartisan effort to address our energy security dilemma through revolutionary technologies could generate an excitement and idealism similar to the one that swept the nation -- and particularly our young people -- during the height of the space program in the 1960s and 1970s.

The conference, organized by the Baker Institute and Rice University"s Departments of Chemical and Molecular Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Energy and Environmental Systems Institute, brought together policy-makers, scientists, opinion-shapers, and business leaders to showcase potentially revolutionary breakthroughs in the biomass area.